Apple now notifies iTunes 6.0.2 users about MiniStore connection

Many cried foul last week when it was discovered that iTunes 6. permission.

With Apple's update of iTunes to version 6.0.2 came a new feature: the MiniStore. Taking up roughly the bottom one-fifth of iTunes' user interface, the MiniStore helpfully suggests music from the iTunes Music Store for your possible future listening pleasure. Sounds like a nice feature, except for one problem: iTunes was transferring information to Apple without the user's knowledge and/or consent.

In the lengthy list of applications connecting surreptitiously to the Internet and transmitting data, the iTunes MiniStore feature is near the bottom in terms of the potential for harm. According to Apple, the only time information is passed is when the user clicks on a track to begin play, the only data being passed was the song and artist, and the information is not being retained. However, a number of people parsed the data being sent and discovered that the Apple ID was being sent as well. Stopping the data transmission is easy enough: turn off the MiniStore pane. However, the fact that the feature was enabled by default is troubling.

Apple has made a significant change to the MiniStore. When listening to O How the Mighty Have Fallen last night (a great album, by the way), I clicked on the MiniStore icon to see what else Apple thought I might want to check out. Instead of the MiniStore panel, I was presented with a message from Apple:

iTunes asking permission to connect

Changing the behavior of iTunes was a no-brainer once the outcry grew loud enough. However, the fact that Apple chose not to configure the MiniStore in this manner from the beginning is troubling. As I said before, this is a minor transgression compared to what other (mostly shady) programs do. But when companies are going to be collecting data about your usage habits, they have an obligation to inform the user before it happens for the first time.